Rahul Dravid finally announced as Head of Cricket at NCA
The BCCI confirmed the news in an official statement, a week after Rahul Dravid was originally supposed to take over at the helm of the National Cricket Academy (NCA). Dravid was sent on leave from his role as vice-president of India Cements, as a solution to the conflict of interest issue.
Seven years on after his retirement from international and first-class cricket, Dravid continues to influence Indian cricket from the shadows. Having already held positions as head coach for the Under-19 and ‘A’ teams, “The Wall” will now head to the NCA in Bangalore as Head of Cricket.
The former Indian captain was originally supposed to take over on July 1. However, the BCCI Committee of Administrators (CoA) found a conflict of interest as Dravid would hold two positions at the same time. The panel then advised Dravid to either to relinquish his post as vice-president of India Cements or take a leave of absence until his tenure at NCA concludes.
India Cements, a company well versed with Indian cricket with the IPL and Chennai Super Kings, decided to send Dravid on a leave without pay, as per the norms suggested by the CoA. As the air finally cleared, the BCCI released a statement on Monday making Dravid’s new role official.
“Mr Dravid will oversee all cricket related activities at NCA and will be involved in mentoring, coaching, training and motivating players, coaches and support staff at the NCA,” BCCI released in a statement, reported PTI.
Although Dravid’s tenure at NCA is yet to be defined, his objectives have clearly been laid out by the BCCI.
“Dravid will also work closely with the National men’s and women’s Head coaches and coaches for India Developmental teams including India A, India Under 19, India Under 23 teams, in the identification of key training and development objectives,” the statement added.
Dravid will also chart a roadmap for junior cricket, supervise the rehab and recovery for injured cricketers, and provide necessary inputs to the senior men’s and women’s head coaches.